Title Lenders

EMERGENCIES ARISE. Some families have no insurance and cannot wait until payday to take a child to a physician about a medical problem. What physician or hospital is going to see them free? What bank is going to lend money on 30 minutes' notice with no credit check and no bank account? Many of these people have nowhere else to go except car-title lenders.The Orange and Seminole county commissions recently passed ordinances that will essentially put all title lenders out of business. That action was another classic example of treating the symptom and not the disease.

TALLAHASSEE -- Legislation to restore high-interest car-title loans in Florida might have breathed its last Tuesday in the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee. With less than two weeks to go in the Legislature and facing stiff opposition, Sen. Carey Baker, R-Eustis, postponed action on his proposal aimed at reviving a title-loan industry that was effectively wiped out in Florida by legislation signed into law six years ago by Gov. Jeb Bush. With interest rates on title loans soaring to 264 percent a year, Bush and the Legislature that year agreed to cap rates at 30 percent annually, which industry officials have since acknowledged drove out most lenders.

TAVARES - Poor residents who use their cars for collateral to get fast cash got some financial protection from title-loan lenders Tuesday.The Lake County Commission unanimously approved a law reducing the maximum-allowable interest rate charged for title loans from 264 to 30 percent a year.``I honestly feel we had to do something to protect folk,'' said commission Chairman Welton Cadwell. ``Once they get into this cycle, they're not sure how to get out of it.''But title-loan dealers have argued they should be compensated for the risk they take lending money to people with questionable credit and suspect income.

Bravo to SunTrust Bank for its consumer-friendly decision to stop bankrolling the payday and car-title lending industry. SunTrust, the largest bank in Central Florida, confirmed this week that it would no longer provide business loans to companies that make payday or car-title loans. Such companies typically target consumers who are poor or otherwise desperate for cash. The sky-high interest rates and other exorbitant fees those companies often charge can trap consumers in an escalating and ruinous spiral of debt.

CRAWFORDVILLE - Wakulla County commissioners have reversed a decision that would have made the county a haven for people wanting desperation title loans and willing to pay the high interest.The commission voted Monday night to cap interest-rate loans at 30 percent a year, the same as in neighboring Leon County.With several counties across Florida limiting what title lenders can charge, with annual rates that range from 18 to 30 percent, the Wakulla County Commission had last summer set a 99-percent-interest ceiling on the controversial loans.

TALLAHASSEE - Senate leaders threw their support Monday behind legislation aimed at reining in high-interest title loans and payday advances, services provided by high-powered and politically connected industries that critics accuse of preying on Florida's poor. Efforts to reduce the 264 percent annual interest rates charged by many title lenders dominated the Legislature last year, but failed to win approval when industry allies marshaled key lawmakers to block proposed reforms. Counted among the industry's staunchest defenders are longtime Senate power broker W.D. Childers, R-Pensacola, and a pair of former House speakers, Don Tucker and Ralph Haben, who lobby for title lenders.

It may take the might of the U.S. military to keep Florida consumers from being ripped off.Efforts to reel in the state's greedy title-loan industry - which charges interest and fees of as much as 264 percent a year - had been making little progress until late last week, when representatives from the Navy told Florida House of Representatives Speaker John Thrasher they're weary of having their people victimized.Living on relatively modest incomes, many Navy enlisted people have fallen into the trap of taking out small loans at charges far too high for them to pay back.

Legislation that would slash interest rates charged by companies that give cash in exchange for car titles passed its first legislative hurdle Monday, drawing warnings from title lenders.The bill would cut interest rates from 22 percent a month, which translates to an annual rate of 264 percent, down to the rate currently charged by consumer finance organizations - 30 percent annually, plus fees.Michael Coniglio, who represents the Southern Association of Title Lenders, said lenders would call in their vehicle-backed loans, potentially leading to mass car repossessions.

TALLAHASSEE - The House unanimously passed car-title-loan reform Wednesday, throwing the issue over to the Senate for the third straight year. Rep. Bill Sublette, R-Orlando, thanked his colleagues and said he hopes Senate leaders keep their promise that the legislation will pass. The measure, which caps interest rates on the loans at 30 percent per year, has failed twice in the Senate. ``I think this may be the last time I speak on this bill,'' said Sublette, to a rousing cheer from his fellow members during floor debate.

TALLAHASSEE - Public outrage over high-interest loans to struggling consumers paid off Tuesday when a House panel voted to cut the rate from 264 percent to 30 percent a year.The reform efforts got another boost when a key industry backer announced on the Senate floor that he is ready to compromise.But whether the developments will lead to any significant reform of the title-loan industry remains uncertain.``I'm much more pleased with how it is going this year,'' said Rep. Bill Sublette, R-Orlando, who is trying for a third year to rein in loan rates.

Ending a four-year fight to rein in sky-high interest rates on car-title loans, Gov. Jeb Bush on Thursday signed a bill into law capping rates at 30 percent per year. ``The bill I sign today allows the free market to operate fairly, while looking out for consumers who otherwise would not have anyone to look out for them,'' said Bush, who came to Orlando for the bill-signing ceremony. ``Consumers can now confidently enter the market knowing that they are protected against unfair practices.

With a stroke of the pen Thursday, Gov. Jeb Bush put an end to predatory businesses in Florida charging sky-high rates for loans guaranteed by borrowers' car titles. For five long years, car-title lenders -- with the state's blessing -- have been gouging struggling consumers with rates as high as 264 percent a year. At a well-attended signing ceremony in Orlando, the governor said the state won't stand for such treatment of consumers. He congratulated those who have fought for years to restrict car-title lenders' rates to a fair level.

Only one person has the legislative muscle to push reform through the Florida Senate: Toni Jennings. As Senate president, she has sole authority to appoint committee heads, manage Senate operations and, perhaps most important, negotiate key legislation and state spending decisions with Gov. Jeb Bush and her counterpart in the House of Representatives, Speaker John Thrasher. Shortly before the start of this year's legislative session, Ms. Jennings made one of her top priorities protecting Floridians from usurious lenders.

John Thrasher has only one thing left to give Floridians: a legacy. When the Legislature adjourns later this week, the leader of the state House of Representatives will cap a 16-year career of public service. So what will Mr. Thrasher's legacy be? With a nod of his head, Mr. Thrasher easily could protect Floridians from the scads of usurious lenders who -- at the Legislature's invitation -- have feasted, unchecked, for the past five years on cash-strapped Floridians. Already, Mr. Thrasher has thrown his legislative clout behind a measure that would limit to 30 percent a year what businesses can charge for small loans in exchange for car titles.

The Florida Legislature has taken the first major step necessary to protect residents from predatory lenders who gouge hapless borrowers with triple-digit yearly charges. The House of Representatives, urged on by Speaker John Thrasher, voted unanimously last week to limit to 30 percent what businesses can charge for small loans in exchange for a borrower's car title. Those lenders have been charging as much as 264 percent a year in interest and fees. Assuming that the Senate quickly follows suit, both chambers of the Legislature should turn their attention immediately to a much more egregious problem -- businesses that lend money in exchange for postdated personal checks until the borrower's next payday.

The Florida House of Representatives should take a bow. Heck, why not two? Wednesday, it unanimously passed a bill that would help long-suffering consumers who have borrowed money at 264 percent a year, leaving their car titles as collateral. House members approved a 30 percent yearly limit, which is reasonable and fair. Several people deserve acknowledgment for that victory, starting with House Speaker John Thrasher. Early in this year's legislative session, he predicted that the bill would race through its five assigned committees and on to resounding support in the full House.

THE TITLE-loan industry serves a public need. There is an entire segment of our society that has no credit and nowhere to turn in an emergency. We loan money to self-employed people, for medical emergencies, bail money, auto repairs, apartment deposits and other reasons that help people.We are all for regulation that gives strict guidelines to our industry and protects our consumers. But the mob mentality of legislators and citizens who have no concept of what it is like to need a title loan is ridiculous.

TALLAHASSEE - Five years after a last-minute amendment legitimized the car-title-loan industry, the state Legislature stands poised to pass a tough law curtailing interest rates on the loans. With little debate and no opposition, the House on Tuesday gave tentative approval to legislation that would cap interest rates on the loans. Senate leaders have said they plan a vote on the House version, out of deference to sponsor Rep. Bill Sublette, who has led the fight against the industry. Gov. Jeb Bush also has said he will sign the bill.

TALLAHASSEE - The House unanimously passed car-title-loan reform Wednesday, throwing the issue over to the Senate for the third straight year. Rep. Bill Sublette, R-Orlando, thanked his colleagues and said he hopes Senate leaders keep their promise that the legislation will pass. The measure, which caps interest rates on the loans at 30 percent per year, has failed twice in the Senate. ``I think this may be the last time I speak on this bill,'' said Sublette, to a rousing cheer from his fellow members during floor debate.

TALLAHASSEE - Five years after a last-minute amendment legitimized the car-title-loan industry, the state Legislature stands poised to pass a tough law curtailing interest rates on the loans. With little debate and no opposition, the House on Tuesday gave tentative approval to legislation that would cap interest rates on the loans. Senate leaders have said they plan a vote on the House version, out of deference to sponsor Rep. Bill Sublette, who has led the fight against the industry. Gov. Jeb Bush also has said he will sign the bill.